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JST Chapter 212: Madara’s Dilemma
🕑 Added 2025-03-10 19:41:58 +0000 UTC"Kazuki-sama, your aura is becoming more and more like that of a dragon...!"
The three snake princesses coiled around Kazuki's arm, sniffing with fascination and fear the subtle yet unmistakable scent of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya emanating from him. Their bodies trembled, somewhere between excitement and reverence.
The long-awaited evolution into a dragon...
Becoming an Ōtsutsuki.
The dream that Ryuchi Cave had pursued for millennia, without success, now seemed to be within reach thanks to Kazuki.
Tobirama frowned tightly.
Like a dragon?
His keen intuition told him that both Ryuchi Cave and Mount Myōboku knew more than they were letting on about Kazuki's situation. But for some reason, they refrained from revealing it openly.
Kazuki gently ran his hand over the scales of the three white snakes, stroking their heads one by one before speaking in a calm voice, "I need you to help me accustom my body to absorbing natural energy constantly."
"Traditional Sage Mode, from what I've studied, can only be maintained for a few minutes and requires accumulating natural energy beforehand to synthesize senjutsu chakra. This is a huge limitation in an unexpected fight."
"So, what I want from you is for you to use the Sage Arts of Ryuchi Cave to fuse with me and guide my body to passively absorb natural energy, until I can finally maintain Sage Mode permanently."
Even though Kazuki was making progress in his transformation towards the body of an Ōtsutsuki, there was still a significant gap. He had not reached the level of the Six Paths, nor was he able to master natural energy in an instant.
The three snake princesses listened to him in bewilderment.
Maintain sage mode constantly?
That was an excessive burden on the body!
Kazuki nodded calmly. "I know. I don't have an innate talent for the sage arts, but that's precisely why I have to make up for it with effort and discipline."
He took out an ancient scroll that the White Snake Sage had given him, flipping through it with a thoughtful expression. "It is regrettable that I am an average person, but fortunately I have your help."
"Don't try to dissuade me. Do it. I will strive to become a worthy inheritor of the sage arts of Ryuchi Cave."
The three snake princesses looked at each other, not understanding.
If someone with potential like Kazuki was a person with average talents, then what were they?
They remained silent and, with no other choice, decided to give it a try.
Moments later, as they injected a large amount of natural energy into Kazuki's body, they prepared to regulate its flow but were completely stunned by what they saw.
The violent natural energy became completely submissive within Kazuki's body, integrating with his chakra without any resistance!
How was this possible?
The truth was that natural energy, as untamable as it seemed, was nothing more than food for the Ōtsutsuki...
Kazuki, who was gradually approaching the state of a pure Ōtsutsuki, was still far from reaching the level of instinctive absorption of his lineage, but he found it easy to process the natural energy entering his body.
The real task of the snake princesses was to teach Kazuki's body to actively absorb natural energy and increase the absorption speed over time.
While Kazuki was studying the sage arts of Ryuchi Cave, he would occasionally discuss some points with Tobirama, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
...
And in Kusagakure.
Uchiha Madara, wrapped in the body of White Zetsu, looked at the corpses scattered around him and fixed his gaze on the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
"So this is the Box of Ultimate Bliss?" With a sneer, he threw it open and declared in a deep voice, "Give me back my youth!"
Seeing that nothing happened, Madara looked at the enormous, pitch-black box with beast heads carved on all four sides. Then, with a disappointed look, he shook his head.
"According to ancient records, the Box of Ultimate Bliss was originally created by the Sage of Six Paths as a seal capable of absorbing all negative emotions to eradicate conflict..."
"However, over time, it became the ultimate weapon of the era of the Sage of Six Paths, a legendary artifact capable of granting any wish..."
"And that's all?" Madara frowned in disgust. Why the hell wasn't this thing responding to him?
What Madara didn't know was that, inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the demon Satori, born from the accumulation of negative emotions, was watching him with a perplexed expression.
This smell is familiar!
Although Madara did not possess the Rinnegan at the time, its original awakening was linked to the chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths produced by the combination of Asura and Indra...
If anyone else had opened the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Satori would have read their wishes and, upon granting them, would have devoured their body to reemerge into the shinobi world...
But with Madara...
Satori stared at Madara's aged yet imposing body, exuding the aura of the Sage of Six Paths, and felt a chill.
Do you want me to give you back your youth? Little brother, I can't do that...
After a moment of pondering, Satori decided to pretend he was dead. If he kept quiet, Madara might think the box was broken and leave...
And what could Madara do about it?
Madara began to contemplate leaving.
In his mind, desperately clinging to life in an aging body was a humiliation.
If the Shura of the shinobi world was going to dance once more, he had to do so proudly before the crowd...
Lowering himself to the point of coming to find the Box of Ultimate Bliss had already been enough of a concession for him.
Madara began to move, but his face was filled with an internal struggle. He had been at the top of the shinobi world, and now his own pride became his greatest obstacle.
On the other hand, Satori watched the scene with glee and hid himself even further, preferring to be trapped in the box and unable to escape rather than face an old man with the breath of the Sage of the Six Paths.
But at this moment...
From the ground emerged a being shaped like a Venus flytrap vase. It approached Madara and said in a deep voice: "Madara-sama, we have accomplished the mission. Uchiha Obito has successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. The Eye of the Moon plan is proceeding smoothly!"
It was Black Zetsu.
After parting ways with Kazuki, Black Zetsu returned to the Mountains' Graveyard, only to discover that the old man had run away from the house on his own...
After contacting the White Zetsu, he discovered that Madara had witnessed the power of Obito's Kamui and, feeling pressured, finally decided to look for ways to restore his broken body.
Black Zetsu was very excited when he heard the news!
Finally! Finally this old man is starting to use his head!
Before Kazuki appeared, Black Zetsu was very concerned about Uchiha Madara's spokesperson's supposed plan. It was really full of holes. If he really followed that script, it would take a lot of effort to fix it...
If Madara could cheer himself up a little, stop complaining about his old age, and seek a perfect return to his peak state, wouldn't it be nice to find a way to absorb some vitality and gain a certain amount of combat power in the shinobi world filled with various ninjutsu and kinjutsu?
But no! He just wanted to be a hands-off boss and run to the Pure Land to hide in peace...
Very nice for his ego, but that reduced the chances of success of the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Seeing Madara acting with such a mix of hypocrisy and righteousness, Black Zetsu couldn't help but let out a cold laugh in his heart.
My, my, is the pressure getting to you, bro?
Only now, after witnessing Obito's Kamui, does the urgency hit you. What were you doing before?
That's how valuable my Obito is!
However, at least everything is moving in the right direction...
Every time Black Zetsu thought about Kazuki, that terrifying 'big brother', he became more convinced that he could not afford to lose even a single card in his deck. Right now, only by uniting all possible forces could he try to counter that demon hidden in the shadows.
He, Black Zetsu, will not allow Mother Kaguya and the shinobi world to fall under Kazuki's corruption...
No one is allowed to give up, everyone must stand firm!
Uchiha Madara glanced at Black Zetsu with a complicated expression before nodding slowly. "You've done a good job, Black Zetsu."
If Madara had a choice, he would never have allowed Uchiha Obito to acquire such a powerful dojutsu. It was too risky and could get out of control. That was precisely the reason why he was so uneasy now.
The Eye of the Moon Plan...
If it were Kazuki, Madara might consider giving him the honor of casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But a mere Uchiha Obito...
He was not worthy of bringing peace to the shinobi world!
Still, after witnessing Obito's dark transformation with his own eyes...
Madara could no longer blame Black Zetsu. The tragedy that had been unleashed was so beautiful in its rawness that even he was captivated by it, recalling the image of his deceased brother, Izuna.
After all, Black Zetsu was a being created by his own consciousness. That he acted perfectly was nothing more than the inevitable result of his own genius.
